"Stop doing it.
"The consequences are just too high. You could lose your life," Jack said.
"And even worse, you might kill someone else and you'll have to live with that."
The 12-year-old Dunedin North Intermediate pupils have recently conducted a survey in which they counted more than 160 drivers using their phones at the intersection of North and Opoho Rds.
They stood at the intersection on 12 different days last month for up to 45 minutes at a time, Rocky said.
"We were there between 8.30am and 9am or 2.30pm and 3pm.
"It was right at the times when parents were dropping kids off at school or going to pick them up."
Of those vehicles, 163 were being driven by people using a mobile phone.
"It's a lot. We never thought it would be that much," Jack said.
Jack said 147 drivers were seen texting or looking at pages on their phone, and 16 were seen talking on their phone while driving.
"Most of the people we saw talking on their phones were truck drivers, and a lot of the people texting were in cars with company logos on the side."
Under the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004, drivers caught using a hand-held phone while driving can be fined $80 and receive 20 demerit points.
The boys' survey will be one of many projects on display at this year's Otago Science and Technology Fair.
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Comments
Psychology 101 = telling the masses to do something, means everyone else, but not ME.
When you are driving, it is the vehicle moving, not you. So the relevance of existence (safety) is not your mindset. Vehicles become people - with names, colours, shapes, fed and given personal cares.
When a phone rings, it is natural to answer it. There is a curiosity attachment,
So the solution? There is only one = confiscate the phone & SIM card and collect it from the Police station 48 hours later. The problem will be gone in a month.